I do love you, you know?
by madamrochester
Summary: This takes place about two months after Pete's death. Things between Rick and Michonne have been tense until Michonne reveals some surprising news.


_Oh no. No, no, no._ Michonne stared down at the plastic strip. Two pink lines. _God, no._ Michonne couldn't move. She was too shocked. She was pregnant and nothing could terrify her more. She knew it was Rick's. There was no question. He was the only man she had been with since Mike died. It only happened once, two months ago after Pete's death. She went to talk to him about the entire Pete situation that night; to reassure him she really was still with him. The reassuring with words quickly became reassuring with actions. And now she was pregnant.

She and Rick hadn't really talked about that night. He had been kind of withdrawn from her lately. He was so focused on making Alexandria safer. She didn't think he needed to worry about romance so she didn't try and bring it up. She couldn't deny though that his disinterest in her did hurt. Jessie pursued him, but it seemed to be a fruitless endeavor. Michonne could tell she was disappointed in how things were going with him, because they weren't exactly going. Michonne couldn't help but be thankful for that. She was in love with him. She knew that. She'd figured it out when they arrived at Alexandria. She just needed a moment to think and she hoped that that's what he needed to. It appeared she was wrong. Now she was pregnant and the father, her best friend, was distant and not himself. Facing Rick would be difficult, but she knew that he was a good man and would do right by her in the end.

She was off work today. She had nothing to do, but relax, which at the moment was impossible. She went down stairs to see if Carol needed help with anything. She found Judith, Carol, and Daryl in the living room. Judith was playing with a toy while Carol and Daryl played cards. It was around noon and everyone else was busy working. When she walked into the living room both Carol and Daryl looked up at her. Daryl nodded at her and Carol gave her a smile. Michonne smiled back and went to sit on the couch behind Daryl.

"Is everything alright? You look like you seen a ghost," Daryl said.

"I'm pregnant; just found out."

"Shit", Daryl mumbled. Carol shot him a look. She'd been on him a lot about cussing around Judith.

"Yeah, I know", Michonne watched Judith play with her toys. She loved being a mother and would love to have one of her own, but it was scary.

Carol seemed to read her thoughts, "You can do this. I know it's scary, especially in this world, but you can do this. I'm assuming the baby is Rick's?"

Michonne nodded, but kept her gaze focused on Judtih.

"Well then" Carol continued, "Rick will be happy about it. I know things have been tense, but you two could conquer the world together. You're a team. You'll get through this."

"She's right, 'chonne. You're a badass. It'll be nice to have another little ass-kicker around".

"Yeah, I think so too. I still have to tell Rick", Michonne sighed. Telling Rick was the scariest part. She wanted to be with him, but didn't want him to be with her out of duty.

Michonne excused herself from the group. She needed to get some air and have some time to think. She walked around Alexandria. She visited some people she hadn't visited in a while. It was nice to see them all and they worked well as a distraction, but they were only a temporary distraction. Every time she left them her mind wandered back to the little life growing inside her and its father. She had to tell him today. He deserved to know sooner rather than later.

She went home and checked the fridge. Rick always wrote a copy of his schedule for the week and left it there. He would be home in about an hour. She knew he would go straight to his room and change, and then take Judith to pick up Carl from school. He liked to do that when he got off early enough. She decided to wait for him in his room. Carol and Daryl were both still home and she wanted to have this talk privately. Rick's room guaranteed that. She sat on the end of his bed, trying to figure out what to say to him. She had so much to say, but she had to do this the right way.

Almost exactly an hour later he came into the room. From the look on his face she could tell that he was surprised to see her there. He was covered in blood and he smelled faintly like death. Michonne hoped she could keep from puking. She really didn't need to deal with that right now.

"Hey", she said, smiling at him. It was a weak smile and he wouldn't buy it, but she tried.

"Hey. Are you alright?"

"No", she paused. Rick moved further into the room with concern written on his face, "Rick, I need to talk to you. I'm sorry to spring this on you now. I know you've had a long day, but I have some things I need to say and I have to do it now."

"Alright, say your piece."

"I don't know what I did, Rick. We were the best of friends and yeah, you fucked up, but I forgave you and I thought we moved on. You've barely spoken to me in two months. We live in the same house. Our rooms are across the hall from each other for god sakes. I don't know what's wrong and I need to. If I did something I need to know what I did", she felt the emotion welling up inside her. She couldn't cry, not now at least. It wouldn't help anything.

"Michonne", he said her name tenderly as he'd often done before, "you didn't do anything. Being here has been overwhelming for me and I haven't handled it well. You know that. You had to knock me out I was handling it so poorly," he let out a small chuckle before smiling at her, "you did nothing wrong. I don't want you to think that way. You don't deserve to feel that way and I'm sorry I made you feel like that. I'm such as ass. I don't know why you put up with me."

"Because I love you. I put up with your bullshit because I love you. You are my family. I put up with a lot being part of this family. I put up with Carol's charade, Abe's pigheadedness, Carl's teenager-ness, Daryl's obliviousness, and all of the other things about my family that drive me up a wall. I put up with it all out of love. I told you I was still with you, twice might I add. The second time got a bit out of hand, which is actually what I wanted to talk about."

"I'm sorry things got out of hand. I didn't think you wanted to talk about it. I felt awkward about it, but I don't regret it. I thought that's where things were going with us, but I dunno", he shifted his eyes away from her. He wasn't good with feelings, especially when it came to talking about them. That used to drive Lori crazy.

"Rick", she took a deep breath. She had to tell him now and she was terrified, "I'm pregnant and it's yours. I found out this morning".

Rick was frozen. His eyes, full of shock, met hers. He didn't know how to react. There were so many feelings in that moment. A pregnancy announcement was the last thing he expected to hear from her. He'd been acting like an ass, so he expected to get berated for it.

"Rick? Please say something."

"… Why is Daryl oblivious?"

"I just told you I'm pregnant with your child and you want to know why Daryl is oblivious."

"I'm processing, please just answer the question."

"Alright", Michonne was confused. She expected one of two reactions: happiness or indifference, but this was not what she was expecting. She figured she'd humor him anyway and answer the question, "He's in love with Carol and he doesn't realize it. He's completely oblivious. It's annoying."

Rick let out a short laugh, "Yeah, he is. But I don't think I can judge."

"Why not?"

Rick crossed the room and sat down on a chair in the corner. He placed his hands in his lap before continuing, "Because when we were out there, you and my kids were my everything. I fully expected that if Alexandria went well, we would be together. But, when we got here I met Jessie and Jessie reminded me of Lori. I'm such an idiot. I threw you aside to chase some dream, but when you knocked me out it made me realize that I'm not that Rick anymore. I'm not the right type of man for Jessie nor is she the right type of woman for me," he paused a moment and slid his wedding ring off. He put it in his palm and stared at it, "I stayed away from you because I wanted you so badly and I had gotten a taste of what having you was, no pun intended, but I didn't think you felt the same. Like I said, I'm an idiot."

"I'm not going to dispute that. You are an idiot... Do you want to do this?"

"If you'll have me", he placed the ring on window sill and looked at her, "I want to do this. I want to do it right. We will have a kid a little earlier than expected, but that's not an issue. We're a family. I'm all in if you are."

"I'll have you and I'm all in", she said; relief flooding her voice. She was happy too, the happiest she had been in a long time. She shot him a sweet smile and he returned it with one of those rare and truly happy smiles that he seemed to only reserve for her and the kids. He stood up and walked towards her. The stench of walker came with him.

"Not so fast!" She held out a hand to stop him from moving any closer. "I'm pregnant and you smell like death. If you kiss me now, then I'll puke on you and I don't think that's how we want to start this."

He laughed and stepped back.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time one of my favorite girls puked on me and I doubt it will be the last. And who knows, maybe we've got another girl on the way to puke on me some more."

"Uh huh, but you're disgusting. Take a shower and I'll go get Judith ready. We can get Carl from school and share the news."

Rick pulled clothes out of his dresser and turned to Michonne as she was leaving, "I'm glad this is happening. I'm glad I have you and I'm glad my children have you. I do love you, you know? I don't think I've said it, but it's true."

"I know that," she smiled, "I love you too. Now go shower, you stink."

"Yes ma'am."


End file.
